#Yellow Sam

The race was a mare's handicap hurdle, on a midweek card, at a middle-ranking British racecourse, but that is incidental; it could have been a low-grade handicap anywhere in Britain or Ireland, any day of the week. The interesting part is the coded language of deceit. Or deception. Is one worse than the other? In their preview, the two Racing TV…

Empress Josephine ate up ground in the last furlong to give trainer Aidan O'Brien his 10th win in the Irish 1000 Guineas and jockey Seamie Heffernan his fifth, when pipping stablemate Joan of Arc by a short head at the Curragh on Sunday. The 14-1 winner looks likely to head to Royal Ascot for the Coronation Stakes again over a mile, while Joan Of…

John and Kitty Fairley, owners of Highfield Princess, receive the Yorkshire Horse of the Year Award from Eleanor Tomlinson Highfield Princess, who won Group 1s in three different countries in the space of 35 days across August and September, was crowned the Yorkshire Horse of the Year at the Go Racing In Yorkshire Awards on Thursday. The John…

Barney Curley, one of the most colourful characters in horse racing, has died aged 81. Born in Irvinestown, County Fermanagh, he became a successful horse trainer and was famed for his betting coup involving the horse Yellow Sam in 1975. In later years he founded and dedicated his time to the charity Direct Aid For Africa to support people in…

Two 20-1 local winners in the past week - Mucho Dinero at Durbanville and Alittlebitnaughty at Greyville - brought to mind legendary rascal of racing Barney Curley. The long odds and the names triggered the memory, for the Irishman made mucho money by being a bit naughty. If Queen Elizabeth was at one end of the Brit racing see-saw, Curley was at…

Frankie Dettori is making a rare foray across the Irish Sea this afternoon - but why is the legendary jockey set to ride in the 3.05 at Bellewstown? Well, it's all for a good cause as the iconic Italian is taking part in a charity race run in memory of famed gambler and ex-trainer Barney Curley, who helped guide his career. Dettori will take the…